They probably are working on the deal with Sid, if it isn't finalized already. They just can't make it official until July 1. Staal was in the same situation - had he accepted it wouldn't have been official until Sunday.

The same rules apply/applied to both Crosby and Staal. The Pens had both of them under contract for the coming season, and were free to discuss a deal with both, but the contracts cannot officially be offered and signed unil July 1st of the year before their contracts expire. They hammer out terms and have a handshake agreement on what the contract will be, then sign the dotted line the minute free agency begins. If, over the course of that season, they don't ever agree on a deal, then they would become Unrestricted Free Agents, free to sign with anyone on July 1st 2013.

Pretty sure there is a rule that you can't negotiate extensions until a year before current contract expires as well...so that's why no one is talking to Malkin yet. Around this year next time...you will hear about the talks to extend Malkin.

Currently, other teams are trying to extend their current unrestricted free agents...they were not able or did not want to negotiate the year prior...that is why everyone wants to sign Parise...because his contract is over as of July 1 and anyone can sign him. Devils should have extended him last year (if he was willing)

Yeah but Staal has one year left on his deal so his year doesnt officially kick in until Sunday July 1st.. so hes actually still beyond 365 days from his contract expiring. Maybe they can talk (i assume) but nothing can be official (signed on the dotted line) until 1 year before the contract expires (which would be Sunday).

??

Hurricanes GM Jim Rutherford plans to start negotiations with Jordan Staal for a contract extension this summer.Staal, who Carolina acquired from Pittsburgh on Friday, is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2013. He rejected the Penguins 10-year offer believed to be worth $60 million before the trade, but Carolina is hoping that he'll be more willing to talk with them. The advantage that Carolina has is that Staal's brother, Eric, is already a major player within their organization. The prospect of playing with his brother for years could be enough to convince Jordan to sign with the Hurricanes. Jun 23 - 9:54 AM

It wasn't about the Penguin offer. It was about the role the Staal was going to play with the Penguins. It wasn't about the Penguin offer. It was about the role the Staal was going to play with the Penguins. It wasn't about the Penguin offer. It was about the role the Staal was going to play with the Penguins. It wasn't about the Penguin offer. It was about the role the Staal was going to play with the Penguins. It wasn't about the Penguin offer. It was about the role the Staal was going to play with the PenguinIt wasn't about the Penguin offer. It was about the role the Staal was going to play with the Penguins. It wasn't about the Penguin offer. It was about the role the Staal was going to play with the Penguins. It wasn't about the Penguin offer. It was about the role the Staal was going to play with the Penguins. It wasn't about the Penguin offer. It was about the role the Staal was going to play with the Penguins. It wasn't about the Penguin offer. It was about the role the Staal was going to play with the Penguins. It wasn't about the Penguin offer. It was about the role the Staal was going to play with the PenguinIt wasn't about the Penguin offer. It was about the role the Staal was going to play with the Penguins. It wasn't about the Penguin offer. It was about the role the Staal was going to play with the Penguins. It wasn't about the Penguin offer. It was about the role the Staal was going to play with the Penguins. It wasn't about the Penguin offer. It was about the role the Staal was going to play with the Penguins. It wasn't about the Penguin offer. It was about the role the Staal was going to play with the Penguins. It wasn't about the Penguin offer. It was about the role the Staal was going to play with the PenguinIt wasn't about the Penguin offer. It was about the role the Staal was going to play with the Penguins. It wasn't about the Penguin offer. It was about the role the Staal was going to play with the Penguins. It wasn't about the Penguin offer. It was about the role the Staal was going to play with the Penguins. It wasn't about the Penguin offer. It was about the role the Staal was going to play with the Penguins. It wasn't about the Penguin offer. It was about the role the Staal was going to play with the Penguins. It wasn't about the Penguin offer. It was about the role the Staal was going to play with the PenguinIt wasn't about the Penguin offer. It was about the role the Staal was going to play with the Penguins.

Did you even read the question ? The question has nothing to do with Staal signing or not signing, the trade, his role, the money, NONE OF THAT ,but to do with regards to when teams can negotiate and when they cannot.

I wondered the same thing. I didn't think they were allowed to negotiate with Crosby or Staal until July 1. If that's not the case, I wonder why they didn't make their offer to Staal a lot sooner so that they weren't right up against the draft when he turned it down.

I'm satisfied with how it turned out, I guess I just didn't understand what could be done before July 1.

Shero was quoted a while back as saying they can talk terms, get a framework, but can't officially sign anything until 1 year prior to the contract expiration date. Even so, it doesn't kick in until after the previous deal expires. Sid will have a cap hit of 8.7 million this season, and his new cap hit will kick in the following year.

This is different than negotiating a contract with a soon to be UFA from another team. Parise, for example. We can't talk to him, general or specific, until July 1st. That's tampering and against team rules since he belongs to the Devils till July 1st. You can't be punished for tampering with yourself though, so you can talk to your own people.

Sounds like the question has already been answered, but maybe this will help:

Teams can negotiate with their own pending free agents at any time, but cannot make the deal official until the final year of the contract starts (i.e. a contract expiring in Summer 2013 can't be extended until July 1, 2012.)

Once July 1 hits, anyone whose contract expired is now a free agent and they can negotiate with anyone. (Restricted Free Agents are a whole different animal, these are usually players coming off of their entry-level contract.)

Before July 1, it is possible for teams to trade for a player's negotiating rights, if they really want to get a leg up on negotiations. For instance, if the Devils didn't feel like they were going to work out a new contract with Parise, they could trade him to another team BEFORE July 1, and that team would have exclusive negotiating rights until July 1.

It's a safe bet that Malkin is being talked to as well even though he can't sign an extension until July 1, 2013. since Crosby's deal will certainly impact Malkin. I'm sure Sid's agent is running the numbers past Malkin's agent to make sure that's what Geno wants too since they will probably get identical contracts more or less again.

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